Center for Communicating Science at Virginia Tech

Center for Communicating Science at Virginia Tech Creating opportunities for scientists, scholars, health professionals, and others to develop their a

💡Researchers, want to put your research to the ultimate test?Flip the Fair is back! 🎉On October 1, graduate students, po...
08/21/2026

💡Researchers, want to put your research to the ultimate test?

Flip the Fair is back! 🎉

On October 1, graduate students, postdocs, veterinary students, and medical students will trade their usual conference audiences for a much tougher crowd: 5th graders! 👀

Flip the Fair turns a traditional science fair on its head: researchers present their work on tri-fold poster boards while 5th graders serve as the judges—and award prizes to the best presenters. 🏆

Want to present your research?
📅 October 1 | 8 a.m.–2 p.m.
📍 Melrose Branch of the Roanoke Public Library
📝 Presenter sign-up deadline: September 11

Don’t have time to make a poster but still want to be part of the fun? Volunteer at the event!
📝 Volunteer sign-up deadline: September 25

Come practice your science communication, meet some future scientists, and find out what happens when 5th graders are in charge. 

Sign up through the Events link in our bio!

What happens when salty ocean water starts moving into fresh water rivers, a process called saltwater intrusion? 🌊A warm...
08/17/2026

What happens when salty ocean water starts moving into fresh water rivers, a process called saltwater intrusion? 🌊

A warming world causes sea levels to rise, and, along the coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the ocean is pushing salt water farther towards freshwater than ever before.

This process threatens river ecosystems, access to safe drinking water, and the livelihoods of fishermen and farmers who depend on freshwater systems for fish populations and crop irrigation.

Environmental Engineering Ph.D. student, Ying-Xian Goh, grew up in Muar, a town in the south of Peninsular Malaysia, and has seen these effects firsthand. He points to steps the government and people can take to prevent saltwater intrusion, including building a barrage — or gate — at the river’s mouth to keep saltwater out and using alternative watering methods, like rainwater collection, to reduce freshwater use.

Goh firmly believes that working together will “keep the heart of Muar strong for generations to come.” 🌏❤️

Check out Goh’s story in “Food, Water, & Communities: an Atlas of our StoryMaps” on our website! An Interactive map comprised of stories about communities around the world who have been affected by environmental changes. 🔗Link in Bio!



Global Change Center at VT Virginia Tech Engineering VT Civil and Environmental Engineering Fralin Life Sciences Institute Virginia Tech CeZAP Virginia Tech Graduate School

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Hagen on being named Virginia Tech's Graduate Student of the Year! 🎉🎓Throughout her time at V...
08/14/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Hagen on being named Virginia Tech's Graduate Student of the Year! 🎉🎓

Throughout her time at Virginia Tech , Amy has been an incredible part of the Center for Communicating Science community. She completed our Communicating Science graduate course, participated in the Nutshell Games, volunteered at Flip the Fair, helped connect the Department of Geosciences with CCS programming, and was a driving force behind Science on Tap NRV —bringing researchers and community members together for meaningful conversations month after month.

Amy also served as the lead author of "Tapping into the success of Science on Tap New River Valley: Lessons learned from eight years of a community-centered science outreach program," published in the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship.

This award recognizes graduate students who demonstrate excellence in Virginia Tech's mission of teaching, research, and outreach—and Amy embodies all three.

We're so grateful for the creativity, leadership, and generosity she brought to our community, and we can't wait to see what's next as she's off to a postdoctoral position at Yale University! 🎉

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Amy Hagen! 👏🧡

Virginia Tech Science VT Geosciences Fralin Life Sciences Institute Virginia Tech Graduate School

🍻🔬 Audience members coming to Rising Silo Brewery for the August 27 Science on Tap will discover the full answer to this...
08/13/2026

🍻🔬 Audience members coming to Rising Silo Brewery for the August 27 Science on Tap will discover the full answer to this question:

🦟🌸 Do Mosquitoes eat nectar??

Yep! Mosquitoes are best known for biting animals and spreading disease, but flowers play an important role in their lives, too. 🌿

Join us for Science on Tap to learn how mosquitoes use nectar from flowers to fuel the energy they need to bite. James Moloney, a Ph.D. student in Virginia Tech’s Department of Biochemistry, will share the fascinating science behind mosquitoes’ lesser-known relationship with plants.

Think you know your mosquitoes? 🧐 Stick around afterward to test your knowledge with a round of trivia! 🧠

🌼 Mosquitoes eat nectar?? How flowers fuel mosquitoes
📅 August 27
⏰ 5:30 p.m.
📍 Rising Silo Brewery
2351 Glade Road, Blacksburg

Free and open to the public!

Hosted by the Center for Communicating Science at Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech’s chapter of Sigma Xi.

Science on Tap NRV Fralin Life Sciences Institute VT Biochemistry Department

Do you want to reduce those pesky mosquitoes in your yard? 🦟Graduate student James Moloney has been searching for mosqui...
08/12/2026

Do you want to reduce those pesky mosquitoes in your yard? 🦟

Graduate student James Moloney has been searching for mosquitoes and the biological secrets they carry in some pretty unexpected places. 🔎
By uncovering how these insects live and thrive, his research could help pave the way for more environmentally friendly mosquito control. 🌿

Learn more about James' fascinating research in this story by Virginia Tech student Thao Vu. 👉🔗 Link in Bio.

Cod fishing supported communities along the coast of Newfoundland for centuries. By 1992, the cod population had deplete...
08/12/2026

Cod fishing supported communities along the coast of Newfoundland for centuries. By 1992, the cod population had depleted so much that the Canadian government banned cod fishing for more than 30 years. Coastal communities were devastated, and many lost their jobs.

Sami Nour — a Virginia Tech PhD candidate in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering — took a closer look at what may have happened to the cod in Newfoundland.

Using system dynamics models, Nour found that technology-enhanced fishing caused large amounts of non-cod fish to be caught, affecting the ecosystem, food web, and cod’s ability to survive and reproduce.

Check out Nour’s research in “Food, Water, & Communities: an Atlas of our StoryMaps” on our website! An Interactive map comprised of stories about communities around the world who have been affected by environmental changes. 🔗Link in Bio!



Virginia Tech Engineering Virginia Tech ISE System Dynamics Society Fralin Life Sciences Institute Virginia Tech Graduate School

Ever wonder how sound travels from the world around you to your brain?In March, Science on Tap NRV hosted Virginia Tech ...
08/05/2026

Ever wonder how sound travels from the world around you to your brain?

In March, Science on Tap NRV hosted Virginia Tech physics researcher Omalara Bakare and Singing bowl practitioner Fraser Lee Hudgins to speak on “The Physics of sound: From vibrations to relaxation”

Bakare used the aural demonstration of tapping the table to describe our relationships with sound and the frequency at which sounds and vibrations travel depending on their environment.

After Bakare’s lecture, the Science on Tap program turned into a live meditation session, with Hudgins encouraging attendees to close their eyes as she showered the main room of Rising Silo in a sound bath, intended to help relax the nervous system. Hudgins explained that sounds and vibrations from singing bowls interact positively with the nervous system, allowing the body to shift from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest” mode.

🔗Follow our newsletter link in bio to read more about the event!

What do Michigan's favorite Irish-themed gathering place 🍀, scientists and researchers, and a 90-second timer⏱️ have in ...
07/23/2026

What do Michigan's favorite Irish-themed gathering place 🍀, scientists and researchers, and a 90-second timer⏱️ have in common?

Find out at the Nutshell Games in Ann Arbor, where researchers have just 90 seconds to explain their work "in a nutshell" 🥜 and in ways we all can understand!

📅 Monday, July 27
🕠 5:30–6:30 PM
📍 Conor O'Neill's
318 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI

No scientific background required!

Whether you're an enthusiast for new knowledge, simply curious, or love watching people compete for prizes, this free, family-friendly event is designed for everyone.

Hear short, engaging talks on topics like:
🤖 Artificial intelligence in pandemic preparedness
🦠 Emerging infectious diseases
🛡️ How our immune system fights back against disease
📊 Public health preparedness
🤝 Partnering with communities to make research matter
⚖️ Ethics in research

The best part? A panel of community judges will choose the winning talk and award the coveted Nutshell Games Trophy🏆🐿 Afterward, stick around to meet the researchers, ask questions, and join the conversation!

Hosted by the Center for Communicating Science.

✨ Free and open to the public!

Fralin Life Sciences Institute Virginia Tech CeZAP Virginia Tech Computer Science UMich Medical School Michigan Medicine U-M Museum of Natural History

Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran used to be one of the largest salt lakes on the planet. Families swam in its salty water...
07/20/2026

Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran used to be one of the largest salt lakes on the planet. Families swam in its salty waters, tourists filled local hotels, and flamingos migrated across its surface.

Today, abandoned boats sit on dry ground, piers stretch toward nothing, and the lake has become an expanse of white of salt. In his research, Mohammad Khorrami, postdoctoral geotechnical engineer, examines how and why the lake has receded in the last 40 years.

Khorrami explains how climate change brought persistent drought to the region, while water management decisions made in response to dwindling freshwater supplies accelerated the decline of Lake Urmia.

While restoring Lake Urmia will take decades, researchers like Khorrami believe that thoughtful water management and continued restoration efforts can help recover this vital ecosystem and the communities that depend on it.

Learn more about Khorrami’s research about Lake Urmia and the dry sea of white salt climate change has left behind.

Check out “Food, Water, & Communities: an Atlas of our StoryMaps” on our website! An Interactive map comprised of stories about communities around the world who have been affected by environmental changes. Link in Bio!

What if a cancer treatment could destroy tumors and help your immune system fight back?🧬🍻 Find out the possibilities Sci...
07/13/2026

What if a cancer treatment could destroy tumors and help your immune system fight back?

🧬🍻 Find out the possibilities Science on Tap!

🗓 Wednesday, July 23 | 5:30 p.m.
📍 Rising Silo Brewery, Blacksburg

Fighting Cancer Twice: How Tumor Ablation Helps the Immune System

Join us for an evening of engaging mini talks from seven Virginia Tech researchers studying innovative cancer therapies in Irving Coy Allen's lab. You'll also get to test your thinking with interactive puzzles as we explore how new technologies are helping the body recognize and attack cancer.

✨ No science background required—just bring your curiosity!

🎟️ Free and open to the public

Hosted by the Center for Communicating Science at Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech's Sigma Xi chapter.

♿ Rising Silo is wheelchair accessible. If you need accommodations, please contact Erin Smith at [email protected] at least 10 days before the event.

Address

ISCE Building, Grove Lane, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
24061

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Center for Communicating Science at Virginia Tech posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to Center for Communicating Science at Virginia Tech:

Shortcuts

Share

Category